President Trump returned to New York City for the first time since taking office as he visited the USS Intrepid on Thursday to honor World War II veterans during an event featuring a mix of White House aides, Hollywood celebrities and foreign government officials.

Trump conducted a brief bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and later greeted the relatives of those who fought in the Battle of the Coral Sea — a four-day clash between Japanese warplanes and allied US and Australian ships.

Veterans are celebrated during a dinner to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea during WWII on the Intrepid Thursday night.Getty Images

The event, which included a black-tie dinner, marked the 75th anniversary of the confrontation, which Trump said had forged the “iron bonds” between the United States and Australia.

“That was some battle. That was a very important battle for both of us,” Trump told reporters while joined by Turnbull earlier.

“Few people share ties of history, affection and culture like the Americans and the Australians,” the president later told the crowd gathered for the gala at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on the Hudson River. “Those ties were sealed with the blood of our fathers and grandfathers, and those same ties are now part of the beautiful heritage that we share tonight.”

Trump paid tribute to veterans in the crowd and to the USS Intrepid itself, noting the 74-year-old aircraft carrier survived four Japanese kamikaze attacks during World War II.

He also reminded the audience that the Republican-controlled Congress — with the help of his administration — had just passed a spending bill that will boost military spending by several billion dollars.

“This week, my administration reached a historic deal with Congress to end the devastating cuts to the United States military,” he said. “I don’t know what they were thinking when they started cutting, and it’s coming back bigly. We’re ordering lots of ships, lots of jobs.”

“We will add $25 billion for national defense in a short period of time,” he added.

Celebrities, including John Travolta, mingled with prominent Trump administration officials like White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during the black-tie dinner.

Before Trump took the stage, he was introduced by Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp., which owns The Post. Murdoch, an Australian-born US and Australian citizen, noted the significance of the president announcing earlier Thursday that he would travel to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Vatican City this month.

The president said he and Turnbull had a “productive” conversation before taking the stage at the gala, during which they discussed economic and security concerns and the increasing aggression by North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Several reports had characterized the call as contentious, claiming Trump abruptly ended it after arguing with Turnbull about a refugee resettlement program agreed upon by him and President Barack Obama.

Trump said reports about the January call were “fake news,” although he did describe the exchange as “a little bit testy.”

Trump spent the better part of Thursday basking in his first major legislative victory after House Republicans passed their long-awaited ObamaCare repeal and replacement bill.